Estates with Foreign Assets & Domicile

Owning an overseas holiday home in a sunny location or investing in foreign shareholdings which offer high returns are often a highlight and enjoyable luxury during a person’s lifetime. The importance of owning these assets should not be overlooked when planning for the future.

At Hay & Kilner we are experienced in advising clients seeking a Will who have assets of an international nature and ensuring that, where necessary, Wills in a different country are also prepared in order to fit in with a person’s succession planning here in the UK.

When someone passes away, it is often an overseas holiday home or foreign shares that cause bereaved families a problem when dealing with Probate & Estate Administration.

Our team is experienced in administering estates with foreign assets, executors based overseas and beneficiaries based in other countries. Our affiliation with both STEP and Eurojuris places us in the best position to assist in dealing with estates with international aspects, whilst our experience ensures that all elements of an international estate, and their interaction with English assets, are dealt with from a holistic position.

Domicile

Your domicile status is relevant for Inheritance Tax purposes and there can be advantages if you are not domiciled in the UK. This may be the case if either you or your parents are not originally from the UK or if you have permanently moved away from the UK. We can advise on your likely domicile status, how it can be changed and the ways to maximise any Inheritance Tax advantages of not being domiciled in the UK.

There may be adverse Inheritance Tax implications if a person domiciled in the UK intends to give assets to their spouse or civil partner either on death or during lifetime and that spouse or civil partner is not domiciled in the UK. If this is relevant to you we can advise on the Inheritance Tax implications of such gifts and the steps that can be taken to mitigate the Inheritance Tax.

‘Hay & Kilner’ and ‘Hay & Kilner Law Firm’ are both trading names of Hay & Kilner LLP, a limited liability
partnership registered in England & Wales with registered number OC418767. Our registered office is at Merchant
House, 30 Cloth Market, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1EE and we are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We use
the word ‘partner’ to refer to a member of Hay & Kilner LLP. A list of the members is available at our
registered office.